A/N: Alright, yes, I have both the Roleplay format and the Story Format up now! Woot woot!~ My Co-writer is working on the fourth installment and hopefully she can have that completed soon...Moving on!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha (and the other minor characters in this Fic). Because, if I did, I'd have them do so many lewd things all the time and then I would die of blood loss eventually.
On to the FIC!~
Flame (Story Format)
The busy streets of New York were sparkling with business men as they made their way towards the many restaurants along this particular street on their lunch hour, the clattering of women in high heels, the yelling of men into their fancy Bluetooth headsets, the silence of stores as people were too busy to actually come in at this house to look around. It was in this silence that a certain pale raven walked in, the chime signaling his arrival to the workers.
He entered with the sort of confidence that was expected of a man of his status—a young man of twenty four, and already CEO of a company independent of his family's. His dark bangs brushed his cheeks as he took stock of the ship and it's clean, smooth floors, perfectly orderly racks of clothing and a flawless floor planning. It was exactly like any other store he'd shop in—if he shopped himself, that is.
One particular thing anyone would notice, though, is the calming atmosphere; the music—if not slightly annoying—had a perky attitude as well.
The raven, though, looking abnormally uncomfortable despite his confidence, hovered in the front of the door before walking off to a rack, a blonde man passing him, carrying a garment bag over his shoulder.
A gasp can be heard. "Oh, my, what are you wearing? You call that a suit, honey?"
Being an Uchiha—as no one would dare insult him—he didn't realize at first that he was being spoken to and, when he does, his already deathly pallor fades to a lighter shade of white, wondering what on Earth…he?...was supposed to be.
But, he didn't have time to voice any such question or comment, because suddenly, the blonde man shook his head and took a hold of Sasuke's hand—as one would assume was his normal behavior towards all customers. "You're coming with me. That suit does nothing for your horrible skin tone and those loafers are outdated. You're not going to impress anybody with that ridiculous thing."
A slight twitch made itself present on the raven, unaccustomed to being insulted in such a way—people generally didn't bother looking away from his face, which captivated generally the entire population. And who did the blonde think he was, acting so offensive? And the way he spoke …if the raven's hand wasn't released in roughly five seconds, the blonde wouldn't have a hand anymore.
The blonde thing led the raven to the back dressing rooms, handing off the garment bag to a customer on the way.
Said customer only smiles. "Thanks, Naruto! See you later, hun!" She says as he walks out carrying her new business suit over her shoulder, her heels clicking on the floor.
"No problem, Debra!" He paused in front of an Armani rack of their latest suits for men, looking one over before handing it to the raven for him to take and continues to lead him towards the dressing rooms, gently pushing him through one of the curtained sections. "Don't come out until you've tried it on, and I want to see it before you take it off!"
The raven growled quietly, progressing from the desire to detach the man's hand to the desire to carve out his voice box. With a short glance at the suit the blonde nobody have given him, he decided he may as well try it on; he had to start somewhere and if he tried on at least this suit he could tell Sakura and Ino that he did what they wanted him to and they wouldn't be able to tell he was lying through that uncanny ability of theirs—the girls had wanted him to get new suits to look more fashionable and whatnot for their company, especially when it came to meetings and such because appearance makes an impression, like he didn't already know. Within a few moments, he was undressing, neatly folding his clothes on a bench inside the dressing room.
The blonde busied himself with a strawberry lollipop—his favorite—while he waits, seating himself on a red cushion outside the curtained section he led the raven to.
Soon, though, the raven steps out of the dressing room after looking in the mirror, glancing over himself, and coming to the conclusion that he couldn't really tell if he was better this way or not.
The blonde man blinked repeatedly. "Holy shit! You look so much better! I knew that black would look better than that weird blue you had on!"
The Uchiha could feel his eye twitch—this had obviously been the wrong store to walk into.
Continuing to look over the other man with scrutiny, the blonde rises from the cushion, beginning to circle the man, arms folded about his own chest, his blonde brows furrowed in concentration. "…Ah. No, no, no. This won't do. The pants are too baggy in the thigh, they give you no shape at all and that just makes you look bigger than you are."
The raven didn't even turn to look at the man, knowing it would cause too much strain on his self-control. "If it took you more than a glance to notice that then I don't really think it's a problem."
The blonde rolled his eyes. "Who knows fashion better? Me or you?" Pointing to himself, he continued." "I do; not get back there, strip, and I'll hand you another suit, 'kay?" He smiled brightly as was his nature.
Sighing, he muttered to himself and did his best to remember the consequences of homicide as he returned to the dressing room; whereas the blonde looked through the selections he knew would complement the raven haired man and, taking off a few, he changed the sizes of the suit to better fit the man.
When he returned, he announced it. "Hey, I'm back."
"I'm ecstatic." He knew he had said it with a monotone and with heavy sarcasm.
Scoffing at the man's attitude, he opens the curtain a little and hands the suits to the other. "Whatever. Here."
He took all three, already predicting the blonde's persistent nature and asking, "I suppose you're going to bother me until I let you see me in all three?"
The blonde gave a sickeningly bright smile that showed his perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. "Yep. I need to see my creations…oh, and one more thing before I leave; who the hell does your hair? It's a lovely color but a horrible haircut!" And with that, he darted out of the dressing area to help a customer that had just asked for him.
Which just left the Uchiha slightly confused—not that he would admit it. "…what…?" He blinked, growling lowly. Who the fuck did that little worthless, obnoxious, gay man think he was? Fuming, the Uchiha switched into the next suit instead of realizing he could simply leave, all the while wanting to rip those brilliant blue eyes from the blonde's skull…
From inside the dressing room, the Uchiha was able to hear Naruto's voice. Still annoying as ever, but happier. "Darling! How are you, baby? God, it's been a while, love! How are you?"
While Sasuke was getting dressed, and tuning out the blonde's ridiculous voice, the other's conversation carried while the flamboyant man waited for the Uchiha to come out. After maybe five minutes, said Uchiha swatted open the curtains which immediately caught the blonde's attention as far as Sasuke could hear.
"Oh! I'll be right back!" As the blonde walked back, he caught sight of Sasuke. "Hm, the pants are better." Proceeding to circle the man, he continued. "…But the jacket doesn't show off the curve of your back enough…Keep the pants on, just try another jacket." He waved over the man he was talking to a moment ago while the pale raven rolled his eyes, beginning to think that prettily-tanned man was simple pulling his leg, whipping off the jacket as he goes back inside, pulling another jacket off its hanger.
And, again, the raven can hear the blonde's conversation—was the annoying man ever not loud?—but another, different, deeper than average and husky, voice joined in. And then, suddenly, an absurdly loud laugh pierced the air. "Kiba! That wasn't very artful of you!"
One could almost see the man—Kiba, Sasuke assumed correctly—shrug. "Well, Hinata wanted it."
"She still hasn't whipped your tight little ass into shape, yet?"
The man named Kiba chuckled. "Hell no! I can't be tamed!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror—both Kiba and Naruto were idiots—and still isn't able to tell any real difference. Sighing, once again parting the curtains, catching the blonde's attention.
Said blonde looked away from Kiba to glance quickly at Sasuke, his own blue eyes widening. "That looks so much better on you! The jacket sleeves are long enough that it just barely covers your knuckles, which is currently the style…Damn, I'm good!" He twirled his finger around, an indication that the Uchiha turn around as well.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sasuke vowed to ruin the flaming man's life in such a manner that would make the Count of Monte Cristo himself cringe in horror even as he turned to give a three-hundred-and-sixty degree view of his new suit.
He saw that the blonde smiled brilliantly, yet again, obviously pleased, clapping his hands together. "Oh, I am good!" He glanced up at Sasuke's face, his smile immediately fading. "But…we've got to do something with that hair…"
The other man present, Kiba, chuckled, as if this was amusing for him to witness the death glare that was aimed at the stupid, obnoxious blonde…thing.
I will not kill. I will not kill. I will not kill.
But apparently, it had no effect on the blonde as his mouth kept moving. "Whatever made you think that a ponytail looked cool I'll never know but it definitely does nothing for you, dear."
Cool? Cool! Since when have I wanted to look cool? He didn't voice his argument that he kept it that way simply because it was easy to manage, knowing that it would result in a public scene…not that the blonde wasn't a public scene all on his own.
And, suddenly, sad public scene snapped his fingers. "Duck-butt! That's it!"
Kiba quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Naruto?"
"Sure I'm sure! It'll be perfect!" He turned Sasuke around, directing him back to the dressing area. "Get out of those clothes and I'll ring them up for you."
He brushed away tanned hands, not enjoying his personal space being invaded. He also didn't like not understanding what the blonde meant by 'duck-butt' but knows that it isn't good.
Unbeknownst to the raven—for the moment—the blonde took out his phone and called his own hair-dresser, asking him a favor and setting up an appointment for the Uchiha in about thirty minutes or less. Soon, though, he was back in ear-shot of the raven. "Hey, I got my hairdresser to come up here and do something with…that hair of yours, okay? You have the time, right?"
He halted, halfway out of the dressing room, mouth agape. "…"
This only made the blonde blink. "Don't look at me like that! You heard me."
"No, as it turns out, I am busy! And I'll look at you however I like!"
The blonde quirked an eyebrow, something that most people wouldn't expect from him. "No, you won't look at me however you like. And, trust me, you'll look better with this hair0cut you're getting free of charge." He turned around and stalked off.
Sasuke growled, the tick in his eyes manifesting and storms back into the dressing room, feeling more like a child than he had in twenty years.
Meanwhile, the blonde walked off, grumbling to Kiba about the stick stuck up the man's ass—honestly! He was only doing something nice for the bastard!—engaging Kiba in yet another conversation, one that quickly got awkward between the two long-time friends. The tattooed man was fine with Naruto's sexuality, but once it got the topic of Naruto actually have sex with another man was when Kiba felt weird.
A few more minutes go by and soon the Uchiha is walking out, carrying the jacket and pants that Naruto told him to keep.
The blonde, without a word, takes them from the raven and heads over to the cash register.
Once Sasuke was more in control of his expressions, he calmly stood across from the blonde, who, once he had finished ringing up the clothes, had turned the price monitor to Sasuke, letting him read it.
The raven simply quirked an eyebrow, having expected some sort of comment from the obnoxious man, but simply swipes his credit card and signs the screen. If the blonde didn't want to talk, Sasuke wasn't about to make him.
He looked over Sasuke while he swiped the credit card and places the clothes in a garment bag. "…" After a few more seconds, he clears his throat subtly. "…You're most likely a top guy in a business, or maybe your own business, but nonetheless, you're the one that everyone else envies for his looks, his money, his power. Probably, CEO or President, or whatever…anyway, you came in here today hoping to find something to impress some people and my guess would be either for a business meeting or clients of some sort if you work in a place that calls them that. Also, you acting the way you have tells me that you probably haven't encountered somebody like me who doesn't give a shit about what type of person in whatever company you work for or own. You've probably made people cower in the corner of their rooms and now I've pissed you off because I'm not one of those people…" He glanced at the door as someone walked in—Neji Hyuuga—before glancing back at the raven in front of him. "Am I right?"
Sasuke twitched in his habitual way—he was going to slaughter this man before the day was out. "I don't recall asking for any opinion of yours."
"So I am right; in which case, it's not an opinion, sweetie." But then he left to quickly greet Neji, who went unnoticed by Sasuke for the raven was too stuck on 'sweetie' to care for much else at the present moment.
Naruto chuckled at something the dark brown haired man had said before moving towards Sasuke, taking him by the arm and turning him around to face Neji. "This is the guy I want you to work on, okay? The duck-butt, got it?" At this, Neji only smiled and nodded. But, there was a man with hair of similar color to Neji's pulled back in a small ponytail and earrings is lingering by the front entrance of the store…for whatever reason.
Swiftly, Sasuke pulled his arm from the blonde's grasp. "Stop that!"
Neji stopped in his tracks, surprised that someone could actually be offended by Naruto—after all, his nickname was Sunshine!—or rude to him for that matter. "…" Glancing at Naruto, who looked upset and taken aback as well, it seemed to Neji to stem from earlier in the day and this just merely added to it.
Naruto narrowed his eyes for a minute then retreated to the back room where only the employees were allowed to go.
Sasuke straightened his clothes, muttering to himself about irrational, stubborn, nosy, flaming gay blondes.
As he did this, Neji guided Sasuke to the private bathrooms where employees usually went in order to begin cutting his hair. "Look, I don't know you, and I don't think I want to know you. But I have known Naruto for a long time and he has a kind heart. I would suggest not pissing him off or being rude to him. Got it?" He clipped his scissors together, the metal ends clinking together against one another in the quiet solitude of the bathroom.
Sasuke would have refuted the brunette and leave, but thought it best not to piss off the fit, sharp-object wielding man. And this apparently showed.
"Good. Glad we're on the same page. Now, hold still." He began cutting Sasuke's hair, raven locks falling to the floor delicately. It was some time before the dark haired man was happy with his work, an hour or two spent messing with the man's hair paid off as it looked quite befitting the raven. "Name."
Sasuke, in the meantime, had spaced out, thinking of finances and company issues as the other worked, as he tended to do when having his hair cut. "Pardon?"
"I need to know your name so that I can bill you."
Which made perfect sense to him, and he had no intention of taking the freebie the blonde had offered him. "Sasuke Uchiha."
Neji blinked. "Hm…You can go now."
And he did just that, exiting the employees-only area, bypassing the pony-tailed man and escaping the freak-shop without so much as glancing at any mirror he passed.